Govt confident of Opposition support for labour reforms: minister

Workers inspect construction work at Delhi Gate Metro Station in Delhi. The government aims to reform laws with a bill in Parliament.
(Hindustan Times)

After the passage of the Goods and Services Tax with near-unanimity, union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya is confident that the Congress and some other Opposition parties will support the proposed labour reforms.

Plans are afoot to club around 340 labour laws into four codes to remove complexities in the legislative framework in the sensitive sector.

In an interview to HT, Dattatreya said the government was confident of securing all-round support for the labour reforms. “Some of the states have already indicated that they want these pro-labour, pro-people codes,” he added.

The minister said the codes on wages and industrial relations will be brought in the winter session of Parliament.

“We have sent these two bills to the law ministry for vetting. We are expecting the cabinet clearance for these two codes (bills) by October,” Dattatreya said.

The other two codes—on social security and working conditions—are likely to take more time to be ready.

The minister made it clear that there will be no more talks with the trade unions on the wages and industrial relations codes. “The government had enough tripartite meetings with the unions and industry bodies. There is no more scope for consultations.”

Dattatreya said disallowing outsiders to be a part of the trade unions in a factory or industry was the sole reason for their resistance to the bill. “Our aim is to stop politicisation of industries, but unions want political people in union bodies everywhere. That is not possible,” he added.

Parliament last month passed the GST Bill that seeks to eliminate excessive taxation across the country. It will be effective from the next fiscal.